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Recycling one glass bottle saves enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for four hours. One glass bottle. Think of the possibilities of that. That’s amazing. Think about what you can do…and do it! Recycling requires virtually zero effort, but has such a huge impact. You can recycle, starting today. You can make a difference. Starting right now, you can make a difference. I always say, responsibility builds character. Not to mention, being eco-cognizant is totally hot!
So it’s May here in Cincinnati, otherwise known as zone 6, and everything in my garden and yard is starting to bloom. It’s such a beautiful time of the year when plants are such a beautiful spring-green. The rain has been good this season, thus far. Here’s what’s happening in my yard. Having luck in your yard this year?
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Cilantro. This gorgeous cilantro has taken root and is spreading quickly. Good thing, because I’ll need at least a cup of this cilantro this evening for a homemade salsa I’m making. It makes salsa and Pico de Gallo come to life with freshness.
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Parsley. I haven’t had a chance to plant this outside yet as I’ve only had it a few days, but it looks great sitting in my kitchen windowsill. I’d let it grow there all season, but I want it to expand. I’m going to need a lot more than this to make Italian dishes all summer long.
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Annabelle Hydrangeas. These will definitely be the sweetheart of my yard when they are in bloom. They produce enormous white flowers that are between 8-12″ wide! They also produce lots of flowers. Perfect if you like having vases of flowers around your house (like I do.)
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Backyard. The perfect place to be. I love it here. I don’t like that all the grass is worn off under the tire swing, but you try keeping 17 neighbor kids out of your yard. I surrendered. They have fun, so what’s a little rough spot in your lawn at the end of the day? There are bigger fish to fry than that.
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Flowering Cherry Blossom Tree. I planted this about a month ago. It accepted its chosen location very well, but I am concerned about some of the leaves…note the top right leaf has tiny holes in it, which appears to be from pests. I will spray it with organic pest killer this weekend.
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Dwarf Anjou Pear Tree. Another freshly planted tree, about a month into the ground. I cannot wait for fresh fruit!
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Dwarf Granny Smith Apple Tree. Planted about a month ago, it’s doing a great job of getting rooted in place. The fruit trees will be treated organically, of course.
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Dwarf Granny Smith Apple Tree. Up until about four days ago, I thought this tree was dead. It has been in the ground for over a month without even a sign of life. Luckily, I waited before I decided to pull it out of the ground. Four days ago, I noticed these little stubs. It’s a beautiful thing!
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Inside of composter. Okay, brace yourself on this one. This is the inside of my composter. You’ll find things like a huge tree root system, coffee grounds, celery, salad, leaves, etc. This will take almost a year to break down and turn into soil. But think of the organic material I’ll have for next year, and all the garbage I’ll be saving from the landfills.
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Earth Machine Composter. This is the what the composter looks like, tucked back into the corner of my yard. It blends right in behind a pine tree. Best of all, I’m helping save the Earth. Love that!
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Bartlett Pear Tree. It won’t produce fruit this year, but when it does…yum! Nothing like eating fruit right from the tree when it’s still warm from the sun.
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Rows of lettuces. This is new this year, a raised vegetable bed. These were all planted this past Saturday from seed, and I took these pictures on Thursday evening. Less than seven days, and they are sprouting already.
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Raised vegetable bed. I’m so excited to add this bed to my yard this year. Because my yard is filled with bunnies and squirrels, growing veggies on the ground in the traditional method is pure hassle. A raised bed is a great way to keep out pests , to assure your soil is completely organic, and it spares your back when bending over when gardening. I have rows of designer lettuces, spinach, strawberries, and tomatoes in this bed.
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Stargazer lilies. These were planted as bulbs, and have been in the ground for about five weeks now. These will produce sensational Stargazer lilies throughout the summer. Perfect for cutting and putting in vases around the house. Gorgeous in bouquets. Each stem will produce at least a half dozen huge flowers.
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Rosemary. Rosemary just screams “put me on some roasted potatoes!” This herb will spread out and become a wonderful addition to my Mediterranean meals I make this summer.
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Garden Salsa Peppers. The first peppers are emerging from the baby flower pods. Last year my garden salsa pepper plant produced tons of peppers. If they keep on producing abundantly, I have no problems making salsa every weekend! Bring it!
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Dill. Okay, so she’s not prettiest girl at the dance. Dill is not a very attractive herb. It grows eratically and in awkward shapes. But, there’s nothing like fresh dill. It’s superb in dips, in salads, on seafood, and on my infamous cucumber sandwiches. Delicious when you mix it with lettuces in your salad.
Been wanting to compost to reduce your garbage output, create soil for your garden, and save the planet’s eco system at the same time? Composting can be daunting and, admittedly, make a huge mess of your backyard.
Luckily, The Earth Machine does this for you in one contained unit. And, what makes it even better is the deal they have worked out with Hamilton County Environmental Services. They are offering a one day only sale on The Earth Machine for $35, (regularly $100.)
They will have two sale locations, one at Cincinnati State Technical College and one at Princeton High School. The sale will be on Saturday, May 8, 2010 from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.
If you aren’t lucky enough to live in Cincinnati, contact your county’s local environmental services and ask them about The Earth Machine.
The average American consumes five times more energy than the average global citizen or 10 times more than the typical Chinese.
If the typical Chinese consumer used as much oil as the average American uses, China would require 90 million barrels per day—11 million more than the entire world produced each day in 2001.
Source: Worldwatch Institute
Way to impress the pants right off of us, Los Angeles!
Los Angeles is going to start a new pilot program with RecycleBank that will compensate households for recycling! The hope is that the city’s recycling rate will go up from 65% to over 70%.
15,000 homes will be eligible for the program and the contents of their tagged bins will be weighed and recorded each week. Depending on the weight, residents earn points that they can redeem at businesses like CVS, Bed Bath & Beyond, and El Pollo Loco. The total tally can reach the equivalent of $400 a year per household!
Super-impressive initiative, LA! Cincinnati…take notes!
Daryl Hanna: www.DHLoveLife.com
Alicia Silverstone: www.TheKindLife.com
Adrian Grenier: www.Shft.com
Gwyneth Paltrow: www.Goop.com
Leonardo DiCaprio: http://www.leonardodicaprio.org/
Bottled water is not evil. Sure, it’s gotten a bad rap in the past few years…everything from plastic bottles taking over our landfills to causing cancer. In theory, those things are true, and yes, bottled water can be frowned upon in that regard.
Here’s the upside…keep bottled water out of extremely high temperatures, for instance, your car. Some scientist believe that the plastic can omit toxins into the water when the bottles are extremely hot, thus, perhaps, being the cause of breast cancer. Simply keep your bottles out of the heat and the plastic is otherwise harmless.
About the landfills…Our landfills are being polluted with millions of water bottles. Since the bottles take an estimated 600-1000 years to decompose, it’s an absolutely horrible idea to throw the bottles into the trash. Sadly, only 10% of plastic water bottles are recycled in the US. That means a whopping 90% are going straight to the landfills. It’s so easy to recycle. If you don’t…you should start.
At the end of the day, bottled water is not evil. It can be an evil if you aren’t properly disposing of the bottles and you are letting them sit in a car all day omitting toxins into the water. As long as you follow the rules, bottled water can be a very, very good thing.
Certain greens can help remove indoor air pollutants like formaldehyde and benzene. English Ivy is an easy-to-grow toxin fighter.
